Determining service level agreement compliance

ABSTRACT

A system, computer implemented method, and server for measuring compliance with a SLA. The system includes a server operable to communicate with a number of UNIs. The system further includes a network operable to communicate packets between the server and the number of UNIs. The server includes an application engine operable to determine that the network is noncompliant with the SLA in response to the determined frame loss and further in response to a determination that a committed information rate (CIR) has not been exceeded, and the monitoring device being further operable to log the network is noncompliant with the SLA.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/412,127, filed Mar. 26, 2009 entitled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR TRACKINGPERFORMANCE AND SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENT COMPLIANCE FOR MULTIPOINT PACKETSERVICES, which is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/381,673, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,983,189, filed Mar. 12, 2009 entitledSYSTEM AND METHOD FOR TRACKING PERFORMANCE AND SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENTCOMPLIANCE FOR MULTIPOINT PACKET SERVICES, which claims priority to U.S.Patent Provisional Application Ser. Nos. 61/047,028, 61/039,886,61/035,973, 61/043,551 filed on Apr. 22, 2008, Mar. 27, 2008, Mar. 12,2008, Apr. 9, 2008, each of which are incorporated herein.

BACKGROUND

The use of and development of communications has grown nearlyexponentially in recent years. The growth is fueled by larger networkswith more reliable protocols and better communications hardwareavailable to service providers and consumers. In particular, an Ethernetlocal area network (E-LAN) service type may be used to create a broadrange of services. E-LAN service types may be utilized based on one ormore service level agreements (SLA) for a multipoint service.

The SLAs may specify guaranteed or acceptable thresholds for bandwidth,throughput, frame loss ratio, and other performance metrics,characteristics, or factors. In many cases, the applicablecommunications network may include any number of service providers,access providers, legs, customers, and other elements that maycomplicate tracking performance or compliance for users or customers.The performance metrics are useful for trouble shooting, faultisolation, performance management (PM) threshold crossing, erroridentification, and other measurements that may not be shared betweenthe many separate parties.

SUMMARY

One embodiment provides a system, computer implemented method, andserver for measuring compliance with a SLA. The system may include aserver operable to communicate with a number of UNIs. The system mayfurther include a network operable to communicate packets between theserver and the number of UNIs. The server may include an applicationengine operable to determine that the network is noncompliant with theSLA in response to the determined frame loss and further in response toa determination that a committed information rate (CIR) has not beenexceeded, and the monitoring device being further operable to log thenetwork is noncompliant with the SLA.

Another embodiment provides a computer implemented method fordetermining compliance with a service level agreement forcommunications. A committed information rate may be set operable toavoid contention. A determination is made whether there is frame loss onthe network. A determination is made whether the committed informationrate is exceeded in response to the determined frame loss. Adetermination may be made that a service is noncompliance with theservice level agreement in response to determining the committedinformation rate has not been exceeded. Noncompliance of the servicewith the service level agreement is logged.

Yet another embodiment provides a server operable to determinecompliance with an SLA. The server may include a processor for executingan application engine including a set of instructions and a memory incommunication with the processor. The memory may be operable to storethe set of instructions. The set of instructions may be executed to seta threshold for a committed information rate operable to avoidcontention, determine frame loss on a core of a network and legs of thenetwork, determine if the committed information rate is exceeded inresponse to the determined frame loss, determine that a service isnoncompliant with the service level agreement in response to determiningthe committed information rate has not been exceeded, and log instancesof noncompliance of the service with the service level agreement.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Illustrative embodiments of the present invention are described indetail below with reference to the attached drawing figures, which areincorporated by reference herein and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a pictorial representation of a communications systemimplemented in accordance with an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a pictorial representation of an E-LAN service type utilizingmultipoint-to-multipoint Ethernet virtual connections (EVCs) inaccordance with an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a state diagram of SLA states in accordance with anillustrative embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a state diagram of SLA states in accordance with anillustrative embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a pictorial representation of nodes in a network in accordancewith an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a pictorial representation of a flowchart of a process fordetermining whether losses within a network comply with a SLA inaccordance with an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a pictorial representation of a network ring in accordancewith an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a pictorial representation of a flowchart of a process fordetermining whether losses within a network comply with a SLA for corethroughput in accordance with an illustrative embodiment; and

FIG. 9 is a pictorial representation of a network performance system inaccordance with an illustrative embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Illustrative embodiments provide a system and method for determiningwhether a communications service provider is conforming to the terms ofa service level agreement (SLA). Certain illustrative embodiments may beembodied in hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof. Inone embodiment, bandwidth measurements and other performance metrics maybe monitored by logic engines, devices, or other elements to suppressalarms during specific conditions when the alarms are not intended to beactivated. Certain illustrative embodiments may be utilized to determinewhether a multipoint SLA is being met without performing stress testingthat may adversely affect the system or service. Certain illustrativeembodiments may also determine whether frame loss or frame loss ratio(FLR) is acceptable or unacceptable according to the terms of a SLA.

Information regarding performance, state, and SLA compliance may beutilized by one ore more embodiments of the present invention todetermine that rate limiters or bit shapers have not sufficientlylimited data traffic in a system to account for potential situations orinherent limitations. As a result, line rates have exceeded thesustainable throughput levels of the applicable ports or devices.Certain illustrative embodiments may utilize a static bandwidth profileor a dynamic bandwidth profile that accounts for different frame sizesto determine the thresholds and parameters that may be utilized todetermine whether the SLA is compliant.

Two “normal” congestion states may occur in a multipoint service. Thefirst congestion state is congestion experienced through the UNI (UserNetwork Interface) egress point (hereafter “egress congestion” or “UNIcongestion”) and the second is the congestion experienced with the corenetwork service allocated bandwidth. UNI egress congestion may occurwithin multipoint services because the ingress of each port is“over-subscribed” based on the fact that multiple end-points (otherUNI's) may coincidentally transmit traffic to a single destination UNIat one given time. In other words, multiple UNIs may communicate with asingle UNI simultaneously. This creates an increased likelihood ofcongestion for multipoint services. As a result of such congestion atsuch a UNI egress point, point-to-point performance data may incorrectlyshow congestion between two points despite the fact that there is nocongestion on the remainder of network services. To correctlycharacterize the multipoint service for purposes of reporting servicelevel performance to customers, the performance information regardingcongestion at any UNI egress point during the congestion period shouldbe removed for more accurate SLA tracking.

The second congestion state is congestion experienced through a segmentof a network used by more than one customer, such as a segment of a corenetwork (hereafter “core congestion”). This may occur with specialservices and is useful when the SLA contains a “backbone” or globalbandwidth limitation. In this case, the ability to transmit from all UNIports at one time is restricted to a global amount of bits per second.This limitation may introduce a known and expected congestion state forthe service. To effectively track the multipoint service usingpoint-to-point frame loss or other performance criteria, the “congestionstate” of the backbone network may need to be independently tracked.Similarly, the performance metrics for the backbone network may need tobe removed from the SLA metrics to effectively characterize the networkservice being offered according to a particular SLA.

In one embodiment, a method may be embodied in a set of instructionsstored within a memory and executed to determine compliance ornon-compliance with a particular SLA. Certain illustrative embodimentsmay be utilized for unicast or multicast traffic. Certain illustrativeembodiments may be utilized to track the state of performance anddevices within communications networks and systems. In one embodiment,certain illustrative embodiments may be used to resolve SLA issuesbetween service providers, operators, customers, and other users. Inparticular, certain illustrative embodiments may be utilized to display,track, and store information, data, and empirical evidence of SLAcompliance and noncompliance across any number of parties, devices, orelements.

FIG. 1 is a pictorial representation of a communications systemimplemented in accordance with an illustrative embodiment. Thecommunication system 100 of FIG. 1 includes various elements that may beused for wireless and wired communication. The communications system 100may include a communications network 102, a communications managementsystem 104, a server 106, UNIs 108, 110, and 111, customer premiseequipment (CPEs) 112, 114, and 115, and intermediary devices 116 and118. The communications system 100 may include any number of theseelements, devices, components, systems, and equipment in addition toother computing and communications devices not specifically describedherein for purposes of simplicity. For example, the communicationssystem 100 may include various rate limiters or bit shapers. Thedifferent elements and components of the communications system 100 maycommunicate using wireless communications, such as satelliteconnections, WiFi, WiMAX, CDMA wireless networks, and/or hardwiredconnections, such as fiber optics, T1, cable, DSL, high speed trunks,and telephone lines.

Communications within the communications system 100 may occur on anynumber of networks which may include wireless networks, data or packetnetworks, cable networks, satellite networks, private networks, publiclyswitched telephone networks (PSTN), communications network 102, or othertypes of communication networks. The communications network 102 is aninfrastructures for sending and receiving messages and signals accordingto one or more designated formats, standards, and protocols. Thenetworks of the communications system 100 may represent a singlecommunication service provider or multiple communications servicesproviders. The features, services, and processes of the illustrativeembodiments may be implemented by one or more elements of thecommunications system 100 independently or as a networkedimplementation.

In one embodiment, the communications network 102 is a Metro Ethernetnetwork (MEN). Metro Ethernet network is a computer network based on theEthernet standard and covering a metropolitan area. A Metro Ethernetnetwork may be used as a metropolitan access network to connectsubscribers and businesses to a wider area network, such as theInternet. Certain illustrative embodiments may be implemented utilizingany number of packet based networks or services, such as E-LAN or VLAN.

In one embodiment, an E-LAN service type may provide a best effortservice with no performance assurances between the UNIs 108, 110 and111. The UNIs are the physical and electrical demarcation point betweenthe user and the public network service provider. In one embodiment, theUNIs 108, 110 and 111 connect a MEN from the CPEs 112, 114 and 115.

In another embodiment, the communications service or E-LAN service typemay include performance assurances, characteristics, thresholds,parameters, and information between UNIs 108, 110 and 111, such as acommitted information rate (CIR). CIR is a specified amount ofguaranteed bandwidth. Other performance information may include acommitted burst size (CBS), an excess information rate (EIR) with anassociated excess burst size (EBS), delay, delay variation, loss, andavailability for a given class of service (CoS) instance. For example,EIR may be a throughput performance management that tracks alltransmitted and received frame octets.

In another example, CIR may be a service performance management ofconforming traffic that represents the frame loss threshold used todetermine if the service is conforming to the SLA. In one embodiment,the performance guarantees are included in an SLA. The SLA specifies thecommunications guarantees, thresholds, and actions that are agreed to bythe communications service provider and a user/customer. Each of theUNIs 108, 110 and 111 may have a specified bandwidth CIR.

Configurations such as multipoint communications may introduce naturalconditions, such as oversubscription. Bandwidth congestion states mayresult under and SLA when multiple UNIs communicate with a single UNIsimultaneously. Frame loss may be fully acceptable when a UNI is at thespecified CIR, indicating the user or customer is breaking the boundaryor threshold of allowable service.

In one embodiment, the CPEs 112, 114 and 115 may be routers. In anotherembodiment, the UNIs 108, 110 and 111 may be switches or otherintelligent network devices. The UNIs 108, 110 and 111, the CPEs 112,114, and 115, the server 106 and other computing and communicationsdevices within the communications network system 100, which may includebusses, motherboards, circuits, ports, interfaces, cards, connections,leads, transceivers, displays, antennas, and other similar components.The UNIs 108, 110 and 111, the CPEs 112, 114 and 115, and the server 106may further include a processor and memory as well as othercommunications and computing elements including, but not limited tobusses, circuits, cards, boards, ports, caches, buffers, power supplies,drives, and other components. In one embodiment, certain illustrativeembodiments may be implemented by instructions stored within the memory.In another embodiment, the logic may be integrated, programmed, orstored within a circuit, chip, or card.

The processor is circuitry or logic enabled to control execution of aset of instructions. The processor may be a microprocessor, digitalsignal processor, central processing unit, application specificintegrated circuit, or other device suitable for controlling anelectronic device including one or more hardware and software elements,executing software, instructions, programs and applications, convertingand processing signals and information, and performing other relatedtasks. The processor may be a single chip or integrated with othercomputing or communications elements.

The memory is a hardware element, device, or recording media configuredto store data for subsequent retrieval or access at a later time. Thememory may be static or dynamic memory. The memory may include a harddisk, random access memory, cache, removable media drive, mass storage,or configuration suitable as storage for data, instructions, andinformation. In one embodiment, the memory and processor may beintegrated. The memory may use any type of volatile or non-volatilestorage techniques and mediums. In one embodiment, the memory may storethe performance management information, data, and states that aredetermined and tracked as herein described. The memory may include anynumber of databases for tracking transmitted and received packets fromone or more UNIs, nodes, maintenance entities, or other devices,elements, or modules.

As described, the UNIs 108, 110 and 111 may determine whether the termsof an SLA are being met utilizing congestion states, dynamic bandwidths,and throughput comparisons. The UNI congestion and core congestion maybe utilized to analyze SLA compliance or noncompliance as well asgeneration of relevant alarms.

FIG. 2 is a pictorial representation of a communication system utilizingmultipoint-to-multipoint Ethernet virtual connections (EVCs) inaccordance with an illustrative embodiment. The communication system 100is one embodiment of an E-LAN service type. The communication system 200may include a MEN 201, and UNIs 202, 204, 206, and 208.

In various embodiments, such as the multipoint configuration of FIG. 1,measuring the CIR performance may be difficult. The difficulty mayresult from communications or inter-connectivity between the UNIs 202,204, 206, and 208. UNIs 202, 204, 206, and 208 function as or arematched with one or more customer side UNI (UNI-C) and network side UNIs(UNI-N). The communication system may further include one or morenetwork to network interfaces (NNIs), which may include external NNIs(E-NNI) and internal NNIs (I-NNI). Performance measurements anddeterminations of the illustrative embodiments may be performed byframe, bits, or packet counters or other devices at the port level ofone or more communications devices within the communication system 100,which may also include the UNIs 202, 204, 206, and 208.

The communication system 100 illustrates one example of a sharedbandwidth service in which the UNIs 202, 204, 206, and 208 may contendfor bandwidth to communicate with each other. The communications serviceprovider operating the MEN 201 may define a known bandwidth profile foreach of the UNIs 202, 204, 206, and 208 which may include a bandwidthcommitment. The bandwidth commitment may not be statically assigned toany specific UNI pair. As a result, using a single or even multipleUNI-to-UNI CIR bandwidth performance measurements may not be adequate tomeasure the parameters of the SLA agreed to by the communicationsservice provider and the user.

In some cases, the communications service provider may guaranteebandwidth between legs of the service. The legs are connections betweenone or more UNIs. A guarantee between any two legs of the servicesreflects a core CIR. The SLA may provide guarantees for the corenetwork, individual legs, and other point to point communications. Inorder to conform with the SLA, any of the UNIs 202, 204, 206, and 208may be required to transmit (i.e tx) and/or receive (i.e. rx) athroughput CIR. In some cases traffic contentions (i.e. multiple UNIscommunicating with a single UNI simultaneously) may result in frame lossbecause of the contention for the shared bandwidth. If a frame lossratio is utilized as a SLA indicator, the amount of bandwidth framesthat may be communicated without contention is significantly smallerthan the full bandwidth profile. Certain illustrative embodimentsprovide a system and method for addressing contention problems toindividual UNIs, across legs, or through the network.

In one example, a communications service provider may sell service tofour customers as represented by the UNIs 202, 204, 206, and 208. TheSLA with each of the customers may guarantee an amount of bandwidth toeach customer UNI, such as 1 Gb/second. However, problems result whenthe customers are communicating with one another at the same time. A SLAmeasurement for monitoring is performed in order to determinecompliance. Communication between customers occurs frequently and couldbe web traffic, streaming data, phone calls, or other forms ofcommunications.

In one example, the SLA guarantee for the four node configuration shownin FIG. 2 may be determined by taking the CIR throughput level to thecustomer represented by UNI 202, 1 Gig, and dividing by three (thecustomer cannot be in communication with itself) to determine theguaranteed CIR is approximately 333 Mb.

Based on new interconnection standards and network configurations usingframe loss as a metric to determine an SLA guaranteed CIR is problematicbecause of potential communications between the UNIs 202, 204, 206, and208. Similarly, testing SLA guarantees via the application of throughputstress testing to confirm a CIR may cause problems by breakingoperational rules, disrupting live service traffic to any number ofother customers, and potentially crashing applications or portions ofthe MEN 201. Typically, stress testing degrades the shared bandwidth ofthe service itself and may not capture transient defective states thatmay occur. An illustrative embodiment may be utilized to trackthroughput performance measurements that may alleviate the need forin-service traffic testing utilizing synthetic or test packets that donot represent normal network traffic.

In one embodiment, in order to set a CIR frame loss rate level so thatit may not indicate loss, the level may be set to a threshold in whichno contention occurs on the UNI. For example, CIR=UNIbandwidth/(#nodes−1). In another embodiment, the CIR may be set so thatit is no more than fifty percent of the service offered to the UNIs 202,204, 206, and 208.

The bandwidth utilization or CIR utilization may be measured numericallyor statistically for each potential communications path in the MEN forcommunication data. For example, throughput counters and frame lossindicators my monitor and record relevant information and performancemetrics. The traffic may be measured utilizing any number of devices orapplications that track, measure, and/or record network trafficmeasurements. Frame loss is only expected when the SLA limits areexceeded or UNI congestion occurs. For example, the UNI 206 may have aCIR of 100 Mb. No frame loss is expected if less than 100 Mb arereceived, if however, UNI 202 transmits 80 MB to UNI 206, UNI 204broadcasts 40 Mb, and UNI 208 broadcasts 30 MB, the incoming bandwidthis 150 Mb exceeding the CIR of 100 Mb. As a result, frame loss isexpected and the SLA is considered to be compliant despite the frameloss.

Second, the core of the MEN 201 itself may have a core CIR. Trackingframe loss rate between all UNIs 202, 204, 206, and 208 does indicate ifcongestion or faults are occurring at a UNI if the core is has reachedan SLA capacity. During the time frames when the service is running atfull capacity frame loss rate becomes expected or is within SLAcompliance or acceptable behavior. For example, the MEN 201 may have acore CIR of 800 Mb. If UNIs 202, 204, and 206 communicate 250 Mb and UNI208 communicates at 200 Mb, the core CIR of 800 Mb is exceeded by 150 Mband frame loss is determined to be acceptable. As a result, potentialalarms are not generated and the communications service provider isdetermined to have not violated the SLA despite the frame loss. TrackingUNI congestion and core congestion through frame loss indicators and UNIstates enable true SLA conformance measurements.

The examples given of 95% of CIR and 1% are illustrative thresholds, UNI1 tracks TX, RX for itself (i.e., alarms on the RX of UNI 1). Themeasurements and calculation of throughput and frame loss may beaccomplished using any suitable packet counter, network probe, analysistool, which may be integrated with a UNI, router or other network nodeor be displayed in line with such a device.

FIG. 3 is a state diagram of SLA states in accordance with anillustrative embodiment. The state diagram 300 of FIG. 3 may be embodiedor implemented in a chip or chipset, digital logic, fully programmablegate arrays, or an application for determining the status of an SLA. Inone embodiment, FIG. 3 may be applicable to Scenario 1 described above.The state diagram 300 may include states 302, 304, and 306. Serviceproviders, operators, customers, and other groups may need the abilityto isolate states of the network. The states may be utilized to minimizeservice interruptions, repair times, and operational resources bydetecting, diagnosing, localizing, and notifying network managementsystems of defects in order to take corrective actions appropriate tothe type of defect.

The state diagrams of FIGS. 3 and 4 may be utilized at one or more nodesin a network to determine whether the SLA is being met and record livetraffic throughput to capture applicable thresholds as frame loss beginsto occur. In one embodiment, the receiving portion of the UNI or nodemay perform all determinations of SLA compliance. In another embodiment,the applicable states may be performed by a measurement information base(MIB). States 302, 304, and 306 may indicate an alarm state, suppressalarms or take one or more associated actions. The states may beutilized to dynamically determine usage and oversubscription informationand profiles for traffic engineering and network management and design.The states may also be utilized to record and store network or UNIcharacteristics and performance information at the moment(s) the alarmstate is triggered.

In state 302 and state 306, the SLA is in compliance. In state 304, theSLA is in non-compliance. In state 302, no frame loss occurs. The SLAmay be considered to be compliant.

In state 304, frame loss occurs in excess of the frame loss permittedunder the SLA and the UNI CIR is not exceeded. As a result, the SLA isconsidered to be non-compliant. The SLA is non-compliant because the CIRis not being exceeded by the customer, but yet there is still frame lossin excess of the frame loss permitted under the SLA that does not fallwithin the terms of the SLA. As a result, any number of alarms may beactivated or asserted indicating frame loss for troubleshooting,diagnose, and other corrective actions.

In state 306, frame loss occurs in excess of the frame loss permittedunder the SLA and at the same time, the UNI CIR is exceeded. State 306is acceptable because the user has exceeded the bandwidth guaranteed tothe user at the transmit or receive end of the customer port and as aresult frame loss and non-compliance with the SLA is acceptable. Duringstate 306, any number of alarms that may be activated due to frame lossmay be ended or turned off because the UNI CIR is exceeded. Thedeterminations of the alarm state utilizing states 302, 304, and 306 maybe performed locally by a device or performance information may becommunicated to a separate network device for determination and alarmstate management and control.

FIG. 4 is a state diagram of SLA states in accordance with anillustrative embodiment. The state diagram of FIG. 4 may be implementedor function with other state diagrams, such as FIG. 3. The state diagram400 may include states 402, 404, 406, and 408. In one embodiment, FIG. 4may be applicable to Scenario 2 described above. In some cases, serviceproviders do not provide broad guarantees for bandwidth. For example,the communications service provider may limit the SLA based on a leg CIRand a core CIR through the network. As previously described, in thestate 402 no frame loss occurs in excess of the frame loss permittedunder the SLA and the SLA is considered in compliance.

In state 404, frame loss occurs when the UNI CIR is not exceeded and/orwhen the core CIR is not exceeded. As a result, the SLA is considerednoncompliant in state 404. Any number of alarms or indicators may be setor initiated in response to entering state 404.

In state 408, frame loss occurs in excess of the frame loss permittedunder the SLA when the core CIR is exceeded, the SLA is determined tostill be in compliance. In state 406, if frame loss occurs when the UNICIR is exceeded, the SLA is determined to still be in compliance. Duringstates 406 and 408, alarms, such as those activated for state 404, maybe deactivated, cancelled, or disengaged because of the noncompliancewith the SLA.

In one embodiment, the communications service provider may track thepackets transmitted and received over the core network (all UNIs bundledtogether) between each UNI pair, and to each and from each UNI.

For SLA compliance, a throughput SLA does no provide accurateinformation on SLA compliance. As a result, frame loss is still requiredas an important metric to determine compliance with the SLArequirements. Determining SLA compliance may be performed as describedby the various illustrative embodiments.

Certain illustrative embodiments may allow a communications serviceprovider or customer to measure metrics used to determine whetherobligations are being met under an SLA. The proposed systems and methodsdo not require stress testing the network in order to determine SLAcompliance. Additionally, certain illustrative embodiments may beutilized by network engineers to determine potential traffic anddemonstrate compliance with SLAs when customers are operating withintheir CIRs. Additionally, communications service providers may useCertain illustrative embodiments to ensure that they do not oversellbandwidth, legs, or the core user to provide their service.

Bandwidth

Throughput performance management rates are frequently discussed interms of Ethernet frame octets received (EFOR) and Ethernet frame octetstransmitted (EFOT). The throughput rate is the amount of EFOR and EFOTmeasured over a short time period. In one embodiment, the throughputrate may be measured with respect to the bits passing through amaintenance entity, network node, or Access Transport Resource ControlFunctional (A-TRCF) entity for the CIR, extended information rate (EIR),or both together as a single measure of throughput. Performancemeasurements, such as frame loss, may be calculated based on all networktraffic or only based on conforming traffic, such as traffic that iswithin a customer CIR.

Ethernet has multiple standard frame sizes whereas asynchronous transfermode (ATM) has one frame size. In one example, Ethernet frames may varyin size from 64 to 1,518 octets. This however, does not include 96,200jumbo frames supported by Gig-E. Live Ethernet traffic includes mixedtypes of packet sizes with Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) packetsgenerally being around 128 bytes, and Internet traffic being composed ofboth 64 byte and 1,518 byte packets. Given that the service blend ofpackets of differing size is dynamic and that differences may exceed twoorders of magnitude, such frame loss as a performance indicator isinaccurate. The deviation in packet size makes using frames per secondor frame rate measurements an invalid throughput indicator orperformance measurement. Clock skew in Ethernet chips may also causevariations as high as 1% in the amount of frames that may be transmitteddue to variations in frame gaps. Although not illustrated herein, theembodiments described in FIGS. 3 and 4 may be expanded to furtherconsider whether or not the CIR of a remote node or UNI transmitting tothe illustrated UNI has been exceeded. If the CIR for such remote UNIhave been exceeded, network performance measurements indicating aperformance issue such as excessive frame loss that include themeasurement of traffic to or from the remote UNI may also be permitteddespite violating a particular service level because of the exceededCIR. Although not illustrated herein, the embodiments described in FIGS.3 and 4 may be expanded to further consider whether or not the CIR of aremote node or UNI transmitting to the illustrated UNI has beenexceeded. If the CIR for such remote UNI have been exceeded, networkperformance measurements indicating a performance issue such asexcessive frame loss that include the measurement of traffic to or fromthe remote UNI may also be permitted despite violating a particularservice level because of the exceeded CIR.

FIG. 5 is a pictorial representation of nodes in a network in accordancewith an illustrative embodiment. FIG. 5 shows multiple nodes that may beincluded in a network. In one embodiment, the network may include node A502, node B 504, node C 506, node D 508, node E 512, and node F 510. Aspreviously described, the nodes may represent any number of UNIs,devices, components, equipment, ports, or constructs.

The nodes may both transmit and receive data to any of the other nodesas shown. As previously described, a network performance device orprocess may not be able to determine compliance with a SLA when multiplenodes communicate with a single node simultaneously. For example, node B504, node C 506, and node D 508 transmit data to node E 512 at the sametime utilizing a large amount of bandwidth that exceeds the terms of theSLA. Certain illustrative embodiments provide a system and method forcompensating for the situations of FIGS. 5 and 7 without generatingalarms, recording SLA violations or entering an error state.

FIG. 6 is a pictorial representation of a flowchart of a process fordetermining whether losses within a network comply with an SLA inaccordance with an illustrative embodiment. The process of FIG. 6 may beimplemented by a UNI or other node in accordance with an illustrativeembodiment. Although specifically described for one node in anillustrative embodiment, the process of FIG. 6 may be performed formultiple UNIs.

The process may begin with a UNI or other device summing the bitsreceived by node A from each of nodes B through F for a specified timeinterval (step 602). The nodes may represent UNIs communicating with theUNI being monitored, such as node A thereby establishing UNI pair Bt-Ar,Ct-Ar, Dt-Ar, Et-Ar, and Ft-Ar. The time interval may be any measurespecified by the network administrator. In one embodiment, the timeinterval may be an amount less than 1 second. The measurement in step602 measures the total amount of bits received by a node from all nodeswithin the network for such time interval. In one embodiment, themeasurement or calculation of step 602 may be initiated in response to adetermination that there is loss within the network or at the UNI beingmonitored.

Next, the UNI determines whether the sum of the summed bits is greaterthan a bandwidth profile for node A (step 604). The bandwidth profilemay be specified by the SLA. For example, the bandwidth profile for nodeA may be included in a customer agreement with a communications serviceprovider.

If the UNI determines that the sum of the summed bits is greater than abandwidth profile or CIR for node A, the UNI may indicate or store anindication that the frame loss triggers a violation of the SLA (step606). In one embodiment, the frame loss may trigger an obligation of thecommunications service provider. For example, the communications serviceprovider may be required to provide a customer associated with the UNI adiscount, credits, or remedy for the loss.

If the UNI determines that the sum is greater than a bandwidth profileor CIT for node A, the UNI may indicate that the frame loss is permittedand does not trigger a violation of the service level agreement becausethe bandwidth profile has been exceeded (step 608). Such indication mayoccur because multiple nodes are communicating with the UNIsimultaneously in a manner that is not within a CIR or that is otherwisenot supported by the SLA.

FIG. 7 is a pictorial representation of a network ring in accordancewith an illustrative embodiment. FIG. 7 shows multiple nodes that maycommunicate through a ring 100 in a network. In one embodiment, the ring100 may communicate with node A 702, node B 704, node C 706, node D 708,node E 712, and node F 710. As previously described, the nodes mayrepresent any number of UNIs, devices, components, equipment, ports, orconstructs. The ring 100 is the core of a network. The ring 100 is oneembodiment of any number of topologies that may be utilized in acommunications environment as all or a portion of a network. The ring100 may include any number of interconnected devices, equipment, andsystems. The nodes may communicate with the other nodes through the ring100, as shown. As previously described, the ring 100 may not be able todetermine compliance with a SLA for guaranteed core performance whenmultiple nodes communicate through the ring 100 at or near maximumcapacity simultaneously. For example, if node B 704, node C 706, node D708, and node E 712 transmit and receive data at their maximum bandwidthsimultaneously, the terms of the core SLA may be exceeded. Certainillustrative embodiments provide a system and method for monitoring suchsituations without entering an error state.

FIG. 8 is a pictorial representation of a flowchart of a process fordetermining whether losses within a network comply with an SLA for corethroughput in accordance with an illustrative embodiment. The process ofFIG. 8 may be implemented by a UNI, application engine within a server,or other element of a communications management system. Althoughspecifically described for one node, in an illustrative embodiment, theprocess of FIG. 8 may be performed for multiple nodes or UNIssimultaneously.

The process may begin by summing the bits received by UNI A from eachnode B_(t), C_(T), D_(t), E_(t), and F_(t) comprising five nod pairsthrough a ring over a particular time interval (step 802). The pairs mayrepresent all UNIs communicating directly with the UNI being monitored,such as UNI A. The time interval may be any measure specified by thenetwork administrator. In one embodiment, the time interval may be anamount less than 5 seconds. The measurement in step 802 measures thetotal amount of bits received by UNI A from nodes within the network forthe time period. In one embodiment, the measurement or calculation ofstep 802 may be initiated in response to a determination that there isframe or packet loss within the network or at the UNI being monitored,network congestion, or other network issues.

Next, the UNI determines whether the sum is greater than a bandwidthprofile for the ring (step 804). The bandwidth or throughput profile maybe specified by the SLA. For example, UNI A may represent a UNI of acustomer that has an agreement with a communications service providerfor core bandwidth through a ring or core portion of the network.

If the UNI determines that the sum is not greater than a bandwidthprofile for the ring, the UNI records that any loss is accounted forbased on the SLA. (step 806). In one embodiment, the loss may berequired to be accounted for by the communications service provider. Forexample, the communications service provider may be required to providea customer associated with the UNI a discount, credits, or retributionfor the loss.

If the UNI determines the sum is greater than a bandwidth profile forthe ring, the UNI records that the loss is normal and not recordedagainst the SLA because the bandwidth profile for the network core isexceeded (step 808). The recordation of step 808 indicates that the lossis occurring because multiple UNIs are communicating through the ringsimultaneously in a manner that is unsustainable and not supported bythe SLA. For example, the core bandwidth of the ring may be one gigabyteand may be exceeded by four UNIs simultaneously transmitting (orattempting to transmit) at 500 Mb.

Another matter complicating the issue of determining if a frame lossoccurrence is normally expected is the use of a bit based rate limiteror shaper at one end of a path and a physical UNI port at the oppositeend. Rate limiters enforce bandwidth profiles based upon bit rates andnot frame sizes. UNI ports, however, have a frame size dependantbandwidth profile that limits the amount of “effective” bit throughputthat may be transmitted through the port at any given time. Thisrelationship is caused due to the “cell tax” or inter-frame-gap (IFG)and inter-frame-overhead, and other frame components, such as the startframe delimiter (SFD), that are not counted by bit based rate shapers.The end result of the UNI bandwidth profile is that for every frame persecond transmitted through a UNI the “cell tax” overhead of the IFG, andother non-bits are subtracted from the UNI line rate. This relationshipresults in small frames having less “effective” throughput or bit basedthroughput than large frames. However, rate shapers and rate limiters donot change their bandwidth profile with frame size as do UNI ports. Thiscauses a mismatch in the bit based rate limiter to frames size dependantthroughput profile of a port. When a rate limiter uses a 76.2% or higherbandwidth profile of the UNI port line rate frame loss may occur becauseof the frame size dependency at the UNI port. To account for frame size,a frame per second dynamic bandwidth profile tool may be required todecipher if the bandwidth loss was caused by the bandwidth profilemismatch of a rate limiter to the UNI, which is frame size dependant.

FIG. 9 is a pictorial representation of a network performance system inaccordance with an illustrative embodiment. In one embodiment, thenetwork performance system 900 of FIG. 9 may be encompassed in a device,such as a UNI. A network performance system 900 may include or performbasic measurements, derived calculations, and threshold crossings. Theelements may be circuits, logic, or hardware or may include a program,instructions, or stored elements. FIG. 9 may further include one or moreinterfaces communicating with a number of rate limiters or rate shapers.FIG. 9 may also be utilized to perform the other methods and processesherein described. In one embodiment, the network performance system 900may include alarms 902, performance logic 904, SLA module 906, dynamicbandwidth profile 908, and logic 910 and 912.

The alarms 902 represent service or system alerts that may be generatedin response to the rules of SLA module 906 being violated based on thedynamic bandwidth profile 904 as determined by the performance logic904. The performance logic 904 is the circuits, instructions, and otherintelligent components operable to determine whether the service levelagreement has been violated utilizing a static bandwidth profile or thedynamic bandwidth profile 908. The SLA module 906 may utilize rulesbased on any number of states, steps, or processes as previouslydescribed in FIGS. 3-8.

The dynamic bandwidth threshold 908 may act to regulate a policingfunction by providing feedback that may be utilized to reduce throughputlimits based on frames per second, or it may simply be used to gauge ifa rate limiter failed to enforce a small frame bandwidth profile whichwas discarded by a UNI port. The dynamic bandwidth profile 908 may beapplicable to ports or devices. The dynamic bandwidth profile 908 mayutilize logic 910 or logic 912. In one embodiment, the dynamic bandwidthprofile 908 may establish the maximum effective transmission rate basedupon the UNI port's maximum frames per second at the largest maximumtransmission unit (MTU) size, and the corresponding effective throughputrate for that MTU size and frame rate. In a second embodiment, thedynamic bandwidth profile may be based upon the UNI line rate, and theframes per second measure, with the corresponding frame overhead or“non-bit” counted portions of each frame. For example, the dynamicbandwidth profile 908 may be utilized directly with the network bitbased throughput counters to determine if the traffic present conformsto the port's frame based throughput instead of a static bandwidthprofile in response to the dynamic bandwidth profile 908 which existsdue to protocol overhead for small frames between 76.2% and 100% of theport line rate speed. The relevant speeds and percentages may bedetermined based on industry standard inter-frame-gap and “non-bit”overhead, such as SFD.

An example may be utilized to explain logic 910. In an illustrativeembodiment, a single circuit with a Gig-E may be located at one end, anda 100 Mb Fast Ethernet port may be located at the second end. Theservice may be a 100 Mb service with a “rate-limiter” at the Gig-E end.In effect, the rate limiter will pass 100 Mbs of effective throughput.However, with small packets such as 64 byte frames only 76.2 Mbs ofpayload may fit inside of the 100 Mb line rate port due to overhead.However, 99.8 Mbs of 1581 byte frames will fit into the port due to alower ratio of overhead to payload. The bandwidth profile of the ratelimiter is not frame size dependant, and the bandwidth profile of theFast Ethernet port is frame size dependant.

The rate limiter is typically a bit based effective throughput bandwidthprofile may not be constrained by a line rate, and as a result may allowtoo many small frames through the service. As a result, the small framesmay be dropped at the far end when the frames attempt to enter the UNIor 100 Mb Fast Ethernet port.

A dynamic frames per second “threshold” may be required to identify ifthe line rate of the frames being transmitted exceeded the bandwidthprofile of the UNI port. Given that the frame bit counters commonly usedby packet systems do not typically use a line rate, logic, an equation,algorithm, or other instructions may convert the instantaneous bandwidth(during a short time period) to a line rate that may be used todetermine if the effective throughput may be communicated through theport or is less than the port speed.

The logic 912 may be utilized to convert the effective bandwidth to aline rate. If the effective bandwidth rate exceeds the UNI port linerate, the frame loss is not counted because those frames exceeded theUNI port rate (line rate, e.g., 100 Mbs). Normally, the effectivethroughput measurement does not detect such conditions.

The logic 912 may utilize a “static UNI line rate threshold” todetermine if the throughput allowed by the rate limiter was or was notservice conforming (able to be communicated through the UNI port). Thelogic 912 may utilize the instantaneous throughput determined by the bitcounters and add the overhead of the IFG to the effective throughput toadjust to a line rate standard. That value is then compared to the linerate. If the value is above the port's line rate, the traffic does notconform to the service, if it was below the line rate (100 Mb), then thetraffic did conform and the loss should not have occurred.

The following provides additional details and embodiments for the logic910 and/or 912. In one embodiment, the dynamic bandwidth profile 908 maydetermine throughput rate of a port. The throughput rate may determinedto be less than or equal to a determination of parameters. In oneembodiment, the parameters may include effect throughput rate, portspeed, the frames per second, and the inter frame overhead.

Throughput is dependent on frame size and may change as the frame sizechanges dynamically. As a result, packet service level capacities areoften stated in terms of the throughput rate of the MTU size or framesize. For example, 90 Mbs with 1518 byte frames. However, the use ofsmaller frames yields less throughput capacity. In one ongoing example,64 bytes have a throughput capacity of 76.2 Megs for a 100 Megabyteport. In effect, every time a frame is added for a given time period,the size of the overhead and non-payload bits relative to the overallframe size also increases.

Therefore, the maximum MTU throughput rate minus the added incrementalframes per second yields the instantaneous dynamic effective throughputcapacity. Such logic may be expressed by subtracting the current frameper second interval from the fastest rate that frames may be sent persecond for the maximum MTU size and then subtracted from the maximum MTUsize effective throughput. The result is a threshold that indicates theamount of payload or effective bits that may pass through the servicebased on the loss of throughput due to the added frames per secondoverhead.

For example, the dynamic bandwidth profile 908 may be utilized todetermine that the actual effective frame per second dependant bandwidthprofile 910 is 76.2% of service payload utilizing 64 byte packets and99.8% of service payload with 1518 byte packets. As a result, thesystems, devices, user, or equipment may account for the potential 24%of overhead by adjusting line rates and throughput levels. The dynamicbandwidth profile 908 may ensure that frame loss does not occur betweena UNI-N and a UNI-C.

The previous detailed description is of a small number of embodimentsfor implementing the invention and is not intended to be limiting inscope. The following claims set forth a number of the embodiments of theinvention disclosed with greater particularity.

What is claimed:
 1. A system for measuring compliance with a servicelevel agreement (SLA), the system comprising: a server operable tocommunicate with a plurality of user network interfaces (UNIs); anetwork operable to communicate packets between the server and theplurality of UNIs, wherein the server includes an application engineoperable to determine frame loss in the network, the monitoring devicebeing further operable to determine that the network is noncompliantwith the SLA in response to the determined frame loss and further inresponse to a determination that a committed information rate (CIR) hasnot been exceeded, and the monitoring device being further operable tolog the network is noncompliant with the SLA.
 2. The system according toclaim 1, wherein the CIR is established to avoid contention, and whereinnoncompliance with the SLA is logged.
 3. The system according to claim1, wherein the frame loss is determined utilizing performance metrics,and wherein the frame loss is determined for on a core of the networkand legs of the network.
 4. The system according to claim 1, wherein thenetwork is determined to be compliant with the SLA in response to thedetermining there is frame loss and the CIR has been exceeded.
 5. Thesystem according to claim 1, wherein the CIR includes a UNI CIR and acore CIR, and wherein the CIR is not exceeded when throughput has notreached a maximum threshold on either end of a pair of devices.
 6. Thesystem according to claim 1, wherein the network provides metro Ethernetservices, and wherein each of the plurality of customers has an SLA. 7.The system according to claim 1, wherein the frame loss is acceptableand the SLA is considered to be compliant in response to determiningthat frame loss occurs and further in response to determining the CIR orthe core CIR are exceeded, and wherein the server and the plurality ofUNIs are each associated with a CIR.
 8. The system according to claim 5,wherein the frame loss is acceptable and the SLA is considered to becompliant in response to determining that frame loss occurs and the UNICIR or the core CIR are exceeded.
 9. A computer implemented method fordetermining compliance with a service level agreement (SLA) forcommunications, the method comprising: setting a committed informationrate (CIR) operable to avoid contention; determining there is frame losson the network; determining if the CIR is exceeded in response to thedetermined frame loss; determining that a service is noncompliant withthe SLA in response to determining the CIR has not been exceeded; andlogging noncompliance of the service with the SLA.
 10. The computerimplemented method of claim 9, further comprising: activating an alarmstate in response to determining the SLA is noncompliant.
 11. Thecomputer implemented method of claim 10, wherein the network is anetwork configured for Metro Ethernet communications, and wherein theCIR includes a UNI CIR and a core CIR.
 12. The computer implementedmethod of claim 11, wherein the frame loss is acceptable and the SLA isconsidered to be compliant in response to determining that frame lossoccurs and the UNI CIR or the core CIR are exceeded.
 13. The computerimplemented method according to claim 9, wherein the CIR is not exceededwhen throughput has not reached a maximum limit on either end of a UNIpair.
 14. The computer implemented method according to claim 8, whereineach of the plurality of customers has an associated SLA.
 15. Thecomputer implemented method according to claim 9, further comprising:measuring the traffic utilization and CIR utilization for the pluralityof customers; and determining the compliance state of the SLA for theplurality of customers.
 16. The computer implemented method according toclaim 11, further comprising: recording network information in responseto noncompliance of the SLA being determined.
 17. A server operable todetermine compliance with an SLA comprising: a processor for executingan application engine including a set of instructions; and a memory incommunication with the processor, the memory operable to store the setof instructions, wherein the set of instructions are operable to: set athreshold for a committed information rate (CIR) operable to avoidcontention; determine frame loss on a core of a network and legs of thenetwork; determine if the CIR is exceeded in response to the determinedframe loss; determine that a service is noncompliant with the SLA inresponse to determining the CIR has not been exceeded; and log instancesof noncompliance of the service with the SLA.
 18. The server accordingto claim 17, wherein the CIR further includes a UNI CIR and a core CIR,wherein the frame loss is acceptable and the SLA is considered to becompliant in response to determining that frame loss occurs and the UNICIR or the core CIR are exceeded.
 19. The UNI according to claim 17,wherein the frame loss is determined utilizing frame loss across thenetwork.
 20. The UNI according to claim 17, wherein the SLA indicatesbandwidth guarantees for the core and the legs of the network, andwherein one or more users is alerted of a noncompliance of the servicewith the SLA.